Feeling nauseous? Start with these simple steps to get rid of the stomach sickness.

Stay Hydrated

The first thing you should do is hydrate. Although water is great, consider electrolyes solutions. Electrolyte solutions that contain some sugar with the salts actually help your body hydrate better than those that do not. Your goal should be to have a sweet and salty blend, such as Gatorade® or Allsport®. These fluids help balance your electrolyte levels, prevent dehydration, and minimize vomiting.

Acupuncture

For a quick fix, trying holding your wrist in one hand, and use your thumb to apply pressure to the inside just below the wrist. Keep your middle and index fingers on the top side of your wrist.

Find the right environment

As you try and recover from a bout of nausea, lie down somewhere that you can keep your head still. Avoid hot rooms, intense perfumes, or smelly areas. A fan blowing on your face doesn’t just feel good, it helps with nausea. Going for a walk outside to get some fresh air helps too. Even more effective is lying face down on a cold floor.

Mother Nature Rules

If that isn’t enough, try ginger. A number of scientific studies have shown it to be one of the most effective home remedies for nausea. If you don’t have ginger at home or your local grocery store doesn’t stock ginger root, you can use candied ginger, ginger tea, or medical ginger such as ginger tummydrops. Most OB doctors do not recommend taking ginger capsules. As well as helping with nausea, ginger minimizes stomach pain and stimulates your digestive system… and it’s quite powerful. If you can stomach it,

chew on a little piece of raw ginger root. This can go a long way towards getting rid of the nausea of morning sickness, motion sickness, or surgical treatment. Studies have even shown ginger to be effective at dealing with the nausea from cancer treatment.

Peppermint oil is also a great soother of the digestive system. It has multiple beneficial effects, but one of the main actions is to relax the intense contractions of the intestines, called spasms, that can cause pain and lead to nausea. For a quick peppermint cocktail, put one drop of peppermint oil in a cup of water. For a special version, dissolve 3 peppermint tummydrops in a cup of hot water. Not only does it taste great and work quick, it makes your house smell wonderful.

The Nurses Fix

Although not recommended for home, in a “nausea emergency,” nurses sometimes tear open a packet of alcohol wipes and hold them under a patient’s nose. The smell can do away with vomit inducing levels of nausea very quickly.

It’s All About the Food

For longer term bouts of nausea, start by making sure you get meals and snacks on a regular basis. Belief it or not, hunger can make you feel sick. Don’t overdo it, of course. Try snacking on light, low-fat foods like crackers to keep a little salt in your stomach and keep stomach sickness at bay. Bananas and applesauce are worth trying as well: the bananas have potassium that may get lost when you’re feeling nauseous, and a little applesauce can help reduce symptoms when they strike. They are also part of a bland diet recommended by many doctors called the BRATY diet, which consists of bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, and yogurt.

What About Over-the-Counter Drugs?

If you have an upset stomach, medicines like Pepto Bismol® and Mylanta® can help. Emetrol® is often used for nausea in children. It is a very sweet sugar syrup that is believed to help through its effects on the body’s insulin. If you don’t have travel plans, consider Dramamine® or Bonine®. It can help, but will definitely make you sleepy. As always, the contents of this article are for informational purposes only, be sure to discuss your health concerns further with your physician.